


on days like this in times like these

by AgentKaz



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Collars, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Leashes, Liquid and Mantis snarking at each other, M/M, Petplay, Psychic Abilities, Psychic Bond, WALKIES, terrible people being cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-12 20:47:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5680150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentKaz/pseuds/AgentKaz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liquid is not very good at hiding his thoughts. Mantis is surprisingly receptive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	on days like this in times like these

**Author's Note:**

> i am committed to this ship, and this kink
> 
> it's set around the early days of liquid's foxhound. i might write more. i'll probably write more.

"You're not very good at hiding that, you know," Mantis pointed out all of a sudden after a meeting, when the other higher-ups of FOXHOUND had scattered and left the two of them alone. "But then again, you're not good at hiding anything, are you? Never been."  
  
Liquid looked over at him with an eyebrow raised, but said nothing.  
  
So Mantis just kept going. "You're even worse at hiding that now. It's been going on for a while, and this whole time I've been waiting for you to bring it up. If you want me to do that, why not just ask? The worst I can say is no."  
  
Liquid seemed surprised for a good moment, then he sneered and shook his head. "Oh, don't pretend you aren't bloody disgusted by the whole concept. I can hear you too, you know."  
  
"I can make exceptions for those I deem... worthy. You know that. I've been making exceptions since the day we met."  
  
"Be still my heart. You have such a way with words."  
  
"Oh, hush. I do appreciate your efforts, though. It's so rare that people are so considerate with their disgusting thoughts. Especially if I'm involved."  
  
"Thanks for the backhanded compliment, I suppose."  
  
"It's not backhanded at all. You've always been different. Maybe that's why I like you." Mantis chuckled, turning around as he started to float off. "I'll be back."  
  
Mantis's mental shielding was much better than Liquid's, especially since Liquid's rudimentary psychic ability existed only through their shared connection, so he was simply left alone to wonder just what he'd ended up getting himself into.  
  
\--  
  
It had really only been a half hour or so when Mantis came back, carrying some sort of shopping bag. Attempts to figure its contents out only resulted in Mantis scolding him. "No, no. You'll find out soon enough. Come with me." Liquid had little choice but to follow.  
  
Soon, Mantis took him to an empty room, after mentally scanning for occupants. FOXHOUND's current base was full of rooms like these, ones that few people used to begin with, and he knew Liquid would certainly be grateful once he figured out what was going on.  
  
Once they reached the middle of the room, Mantis turned and pointed to the floor. "Hands and knees. Close your eyes."  
  
A little startled by the sudden order from his subordinate (even if he was his boyfriend, and he knew what he was getting at), Liquid just about dropped to the floor, coat and all. Behind his lenses, Mantis rolled his eyes, and Liquid's coat floated off his body and over to a nearby chair. "Ready, are you?" He chuckled. "What am I saying. Of course you are."  
  
Liquid stared up at him. "I can't believe you're actually going along with this." He couldn't believe he was going along with it either, but... well, it wasn't like anyone else was around to see.  
  
"Why? Lovers do things for each other, don't they?"  
  
"Well, yes, but--"  
  
"Shhh. Don't you want to see what I have for you? Close your eyes."  
  
Liquid did in fact want to see what Mantis had for him. He trusted him more than he'd ever trusted anyone, after all. He closed his eyes as he was told, waiting.  
  
Soon enough, he felt something close around his neck, and a voice in his mind telling him to open his eyes. A hand raised quickly to feel at the new accessory. Yeah, that was definitely a collar, and not a very cheap one either. Mantis had really gone all out. The thought of Mantis going to a sex shop to find a good-quality collar was a little amusing, all things considered. He looked up at him, a smile on his face.  
  
Mantis was glad to see he liked it, although it didn't show behind his mask. "When you wear this, you belong to me. Understand? It's my turn to be the boss."  
  
"I-- I understand."  
  
Mantis raised a hand. "You will not speak."  
  
Liquid opened his mouth defiantly, pretty much on principle, but he quickly found out that it wasn't simply an order. Something was blocking him mentally and he couldn't even form words. He glared up at Mantis, berating him in his head.  
  
"It's only when you're wearing the collar," Mantis clarified, sensing Liquid's worry about his job. "The perks of having a psychic boyfriend, hm? Of course I can still hear you. Don't hesitate to let me know if there's an emergency. Now just calm down a little."

Liquid stopped glaring, stopped trying to fight it. This was, essentially, exactly what he'd been dreaming about, wasn't it?  
  
_Good boy._ This was not spoken aloud, but it resonated in Liquid's mind. And the way it made him feel...  
  
"Boss. No, Liquid. No... hm. I should give you a name. One we'll only use in times like these. Doesn't that sound nice?"  
  
He gazed up at Mantis, head tilted. Unable to speak, he resorted to slightly more dramatic movements... which had to really be saying something considering his usual penchant for drama.  
  
"I'll think of something. And, no, don't worry, that name is safe with me." He knew just how much Liquid hated his real name, of course. "When you're wearing your collar, you won't be able to speak, as you've noticed. Other... noises may be acceptable. You won't be able to stand up, either, or remove your collar, unless I tell you you may. All of this is, of course, merely psychological and can be broken if necessary. If you no longer wish to proceed, simply let me know."  
  
Every time Mantis mentioned another rule, Liquid felt it becoming more ingrained in his head. He'd played around with this sort of thing before in the past, but it had never involved actual psychic manipulation. Even the time he'd been brainwashed hadn't been anything like it. It was exciting, as much as he'd never like to admit it. Mantis knew, though. Mantis always knew.  
  
"Adorable." He reached down and ruffled Liquid's hair. Liquid practically begged for more, head pushing insistently into his hand, and Mantis saw no reason not to oblige.  
  
\--  
  
Eventually, to Liquid's clear disappointment, Mantis stopped petting him and straightened up. "Now. Let's see what else I've got in here..."  
  
The bag hadn't been empty when the collar had been removed, apparently. Liquid hadn't expected there to be more. Maybe that had been all part of Mantis's plan, though. He glanced over at the bag just as a leash floated out of it, one end attaching itself to his collar, the other end stopping in Mantis's hand. Liquid gave him a look, mentally questioning where the hell he was taking him.  
  
"We're just going for a little walk around the base. I'll keep an eye on our surroundings. No one will see. I promise."  
  
Liquid wasn't convinced.  
  
Mantis tugged on the leash. "Trust me. You know what I can do."  
  
First he refused to budge, but after a moment there wasn't any slack left in the leash and Liquid had to acquiesce. He followed along, awkwardly at first. He wasn't used to constantly crawling like this, but he was unable to stand up, so he had to keep going. Mantis offered him some mental encouragement.  
  
Strange as it was at first, it didn't take long at all for Liquid to get better at crawling, and soon he was following Mantis along at a pretty reasonable pace. It certainly wasn't anywhere close to being second-nature to him, but for the moment, it was good enough. He kind of enjoyed seeing things from a new angle. As long as nobody saw him, of course.  
  
He'd been crawling along nicely for a good fifteen minutes or so when Mantis quickly ushered him into a door that led to a closet. Leash suspended in the air, Mantis let go and closed the door most of the way, floating there with his arms crossed. A couple of soldiers went by, clearly intimidated by the floating psychic as he glared at them. Liquid gave him the same sort of glare when he took him out of the closet, but he did agree that a few moments in a closet was better than being seen.  
  
With that done, he resumed crawling after Mantis, maybe a little more worried about who they might run into along the way if there weren't any convenient closets in the area.  
  
\--  
  
Just as Mantis had promised, though, they made it back to the room where they'd started without anyone else seeing them.  
  
Instructing Liquid to stay, Mantis reached down and unfastened the collar, sliding it off. As if by magic, Liquid straightened up, his pose much more human now, all of his restrictions suddenly lifted off his mind.  
  
"...Well. That was something," he said, almost surprised to hear his own voice. As unimpressed as his words had seemed, he was wide-eyed and just about ready for more. He had to breathe for a moment to calm himself down.  
  
"Was it?"  
  
Liquid snorted as he stood up slightly shakily and stretched his arms out above his head. "Like you couldn't hear me enjoying myself that whole time. Where'd I put my coat?"  
  
Mantis lifted the coat and sent it over to Liquid, who caught it instantly.  
  
"Thanks." He slid an arm through a sleeve. "Being told not to do things is one thing, but actually not being able to do them's another. And just imagine the sort of uses something like that'll have on a mission!"  
  
"What, me telling you what to do?"  
  
Liquid just gave him a look.  
  
Mantis scoffed. "Well, I'd expect my abilities to be the reason I was hired."  
  
Liquid laughed until he checked out the clock. They'd been doing that for a lot longer than he'd thought. "Shit. I've got to go meet up with Ocelot. See you as soon as I get out of it." He pulled Mantis into a hug, then grinned at him and headed off.  
  
\--  
  
"I wonder if there will ever be anything good on, or if we're stuck with all this until they send us somewhere else," Liquid said, staring at the TV, head on Mantis's shoulder. Meeting up with Ocelot had been completely boring, and as far as he was concerned a waste of time, but at least he was done talking to him now. Seemed nobody else wanted to join them for TV night. They'd get free rein, if they could find something they actually wanted to watch.  
  
Mantis flipped through the TV guide. "Hmm... There's a documentary on serial killers coming up."  
  
"Good enough."  
  
The channel changed and they fell silent for a few moments. Finally, Liquid spoke up again. "Hey, uh, Mantis?"  
  
"Yes, boss?" Mantis knew what he was going to say, but he still wanted to hear him say it.  
  
"Let's do that again sometime."  
  
Liquid could just feel Mantis grinning as he reached out to ruffle his hair, and he grinned along with him as he leaned his head into it. "Any time, boss. Any time."


End file.
